


A Dream Come True

by tnh1722



Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Shadowhunter Chronicles - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Anxiety, Blood and Injury, Curses, Discussion of Violent Dreams, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Happy Ending, Healthy Communication, Injured Alec Lightwood, Lucid Dreaming, M/M, Nightmares, Protective Magnus Bane, Sick Alec Lightwood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-29
Updated: 2020-09-29
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:00:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 15,374
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23910487
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tnh1722/pseuds/tnh1722
Summary: Alec has a nightmare that ends up actually happening the next day. Magnus gets suspicious when it happens again, but the others aren't really putting the pieces together. It's all just a weird coincidence...or is it?
Relationships: Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood
Comments: 21
Kudos: 277





	1. Just a Coincidence

**Author's Note:**

> I have chose to put the Graphic depictions of violence warning on because there is discussion of fighting related injuries and blood. In my opinion, it is not very intense descriptions, however, I want it to be there just in case. There are multiple instances of anxiety-related reactions due to the nightmares. Please be aware of all this before reading!

Alec shot up with gasping breaths as he tried to calm himself down. He heard shuffling next to him and then the bedside lamps flicked on after a snap of blue magic. He closed his eyes and slowed his breathing when Magnus’ hand found his own. 

“It’s okay, Alexander. You’re safe, deep breaths,” Magnus whispered as he ran his free hand through Alec’s hair knowing he had a nightmare and this usually relaxed him. He repeated the motion for a few minutes while Alec leaned into his side. “Do you want to talk about it?” he asked quietly after Alec’s breathing was normal again.

Alec sighed and looked over at Magnus’ soft smile. “Bad dream...It was...I got called into an emergency patrol with Izzy and some training hunters. We were fighting the demons and then one of the kids misjudged their swing. I got hit in the stomach with a blade covered in ichor and then I just felt pain and heard Isabelle’s scream until I woke up.” 

Magnus shuttered as the image played out in his head and leaned over to press his lips to Alec’s temple. “Do you know what brought that on? You aren’t one to have random dreams like that.” 

“I’ve been leading simulation training this week and I haven’t done them since I was in training myself. I used to have nightmares about them all the time as a kid. It must be old memories, I guess,” Alec rattled off as he was still a little shaky. 

“Understandably so, darling. Are you able to go back to sleep? It’s only 3:30,” Magnus asked as he made the move to lie back down, bringing Alec with him. 

Alec let his head rest on Magnus’ chest as he wrapped himself in the comfort of their bed. “Yeah, I’m okay. I just need to be close to you.”

“No complaints here, love. Get some sleep,” Magnus replied as he felt Alec’s breathing start to even out and they both quickly fell back asleep. 

\---

Alec had been teaching the recruits the workings of the map system in the Ops Center when Isabelle rushed in and asked for his assistance with a warehouse attack. He called out orders to the surrounding hunters and decided that the recruits would come along for field observation. 

They arrived at the warehouse and he told them to stay to the side while he worked with Izzy’s patrol team to take out the nest. “Iz, behind you!” 

Izzy snapped her head around and took the legs out from the demon while Alec’s arrow hit dead center in the demon’s forehead. “Nice shot, big brother!” Izzy called back as she ran around one of the posts to cover his back. 

Their team had split sides leaving Alec and Izzy handling the left with Underhill and Clary while the other four hunters had the right. Alec’s recruits were watching the left side from behind an area of shelves when a demon snuck past the group towards their leader. 

“Mr. Lightwood!” one of the young girls called out causing Alec to spin around. Izzy had wrapped around the side to line up a clear shot for her brother. 

One of the recruits had left the group and attempted to put their dagger through the demon at the same time Izzy snatched it with her whip. The boy couldn’t pull his arm back in time so he caught the arm of the demon which covered the blade in ichor before it plunged straight into Alec’s stomach. 

“ALEC!” Izzy screamed as she continued fighting the demons surrounding him.

Alec gasped loudly in pain and dropped his bow to cradle the wound while his balance faltered. He remained on his feet and unholstered his blade to continue fighting the demon coming towards the group of trainees with one hand while the other tried to stabilize the blade that was still in his stomach so he didn’t bleed out. 

“Clary, open a portal,” Alec yelled when the last demon was finished off by Underhill who immediately went to Alec’s side, supporting his weight, while Izzy moved in and helped Alec keep the blade still. Clary pulled out her stele and drew the portal rune while shouting orders at the trainees.

“Alec!” Jace yelled as soon as they came through the portal. He took Alec from Underhill’s hold and started taking him towards the infirmary. “I called Magnus as soon as I felt your pain. He will be here soon.” 

Alec just nodded as he felt himself getting weaker. “There’s ichor….on the blade…” Alec choked out as he clung to Jace who was basically carrying him. “I don’t think it hit...anything vital….just the poison…” he mumbled thickly as he coughed to try clearing the pain in his voice. 

“It’s okay, Alec. We’ll fix it,” Izzy said as she helped Jace get their brother on the infirmary bed. Medics flew around them hooking up Alec to machines and an IV to replace his lost blood since the poison in his system caused his runes to be obsolete. Izzy and Clary helped them set up the monitors while Jace removed Alec’s layer of heavy gear leaving just his torn shirt and pants. 

A golden portal flourished open in the doorway revealing a polished but frantic looking Magnus. His eyes flicked to the now black, blood soaked t-shirt on Alec’s torso that was light grey earlier that morning as well as his husband’s sickly pale, sweat-shined skin. Magnus leaned down and pressed a kiss to Alec’s forehead before he whispered, “I’m going to fix you up, darling. Just stay with me.” 

After ten minutes of removing the poison and eventually stopping the bleeding, Jace and Clary helped a swaying Magnus into a bedside chair while Izzy started to bandage around Alec’s still recovering torso. “I know it goes without saying, but thank you Mags,” Izzy said with a smile as she took his hand. 

“Of course, you nephilim have grown on me. I do what I can to keep you around, especially this one,” Magnus said softly while running his fingers along Alec’s bandages before he looked up at Izzy with a furrowed brow.

“Magnus, what’s wrong? Are you not feeling well? You used a lot of magic,” Izzy rattled off as she moved to sit beside him while Jace and Clary took a seat on the opposite side of Alec’s bed. 

“No, I just...was thinking about last night. Alexander, he had a nightmare and nearly the same thing happened in his dream,” Magnus said as he motioned to Alec’s bandaged torso. 

Izzy tilted her head in thought. “Replay the dream, see if it was the same thing.” 

Magnus nodded and thought back to early that morning. “He said you asked him to go out on an emergency patrol with him and he took the trainees with him. From what it sounded like, it was just you two and them. Alec said one of them took a wrong swing and ended up stabbing him in the abdomen. All he remembered after that was intense pain and you screaming before he woke up.” 

Izzy shivered and leaned into Magnus’ side before shaking that image from her mind. “That is not exactly what happened even though the result was the same. I asked Alec to come to the warehouse nest with Clary, Andrew, and my team so there were eight of us along with his group of trainees that he brought along for field observation only.”

“So they weren’t even supposed to be involved?” Magnus asked with wide eyes. 

Clary shook her head and answered for Izzy. “No, Alec requires that recruits now have to put in fifteen hours of field observation before they get approved for field work to make sure they don’t freeze up during their first fights. He is trying to limit new hunter injuries.” 

Magnus hummed as Izzy nodded in agreement before she explained the rest of the fight in detail. She was trying to defend the recruit because she knew Alec would never actually blame him. “The kid didn’t have enough time to stop his reflex movement and Alec was lining up his shot so he was focused on me. He didn’t even see it coming, but the recruit was just trying to protect his leader.” 

“Well, sure, I guess. And all of that doesn’t exactly line up with his nightmare. Maybe just a coincidence then?” Magnus asked hesitantly as he reached up to the bed and took Alec’s hand in his own. 

“I know things in our world are rarely a coincidence, but Alec has never had prophetic dreams or anything close to that. He used to have simulation nightmares all the time when we were growing up so it’s probably just that and unfortunately this happened today,” Jace answered with an agreeing nod from Izzy. 

“Alexander said the same thing last night about the simulations. Any chance someone can take over the recruit training?” Magnus offered with a small smirk. 

Jace looked up at him with a similar smirk. “Underhill has been the new trainer for the past hour. My only act as second in command.” 

Magnus’ smile sobered at his answer. “Thank you, Jace.”

“Right back at ya, Magnus.”


	2. It's Starting to Become a Pattern

Alec had recovered from the accidental stabbing and a week had passed without another incident or nightmare...until the following Tuesday night. Magnus had noticed Alec turning over consistently which was odd as Alec was a very calm sleeper. He laid back and pulled Alec towards him so his husband’s head was resting on his chest. Alec settled and seemed to be fine after being comforted.

When the alarm clock rang that morning, Alec lifted himself slowly to turn it off and then snuggled back into Magnus’ side. “G’morning,” he mumbled into Magnus’ shoulder. 

“Good morning, darling,” Magnus replied with a kiss to Alec’s forehead. He ran his hand through Alec’s hair and watched his entire body relax with a deep breath. “Are you alright? You seemed tense last night.” 

“Yeah, it was just a weird dream. I’m fine,” Alec answered, still sounding groggy and tired. 

“Tell me about it,” Magnus said; the typical response in their bedroom after a dream, good or bad. 

Alec sat up slightly, looking more awake than before. “Honestly, it was very random. Cat called me about a threat at the hospital. Jace and I went to take care of it and we both got sick, like the mundane flu. We recovered in the infirmary with you and Iz and Clary. That was it. Weird, right?” 

“That certainly is odd. Can Shadowhunters even contract mundane illnesses?” Magnus asked genuinely. He had never heard of that before, but the Clave had always been secretive. 

“I wouldn’t say it’s never happened before because I’ve known of a few people to get colds or flu, but I’ve never personally had one. It tends to happen when someone is recovering from an injury or their reserve overall is weaker. I’ve had migraines and food poisoning, that’s about it,” Alec responded honestly. 

“From Isabelle?” Magnus asked with a laugh.

“Yes to both the food poisoning and the migraines,” Alec answered, making them both laugh even louder. 

Magnus looked over at the clock and saw that they both needed to leave in about an hour. “Breakfast?” 

“Waffles?” 

“You and your sweet tooth. Go get ready so we can eat together,” Magnus directed before making his way towards the kitchen with a parting kiss. 

\---

“Thank you for coming down here, Alec. I couldn’t get away from my patients long enough to check it out myself,” Cat said as she walked Alec and Jace out of the employee door of the hospital.

“Not a problem, Cat. I’m happy we could help,” Alec said as he gave her a parting hug. 

“Hey, Clary is planning for a dinner on Friday night with everyone. We would be happy to have you come with us,” Jace offered, making Alec smile. Alec had taken to Magnus’ hosting lifestyle better than expected and he was proud of Jace for finally coming around to letting more people in. 

Cat smiled and put her hand on Jace’s arm. “I think that sounds wonderful. Thank you, Jace. I’ll see if I can get a babysitter for Madzie considering my normal babysitter will probably be in attendance,” Cat replied as she winked at Alec. 

“We will see you Friday, Cat,” Alec said as he turned to walk away. He and Jace made their way back to the Institute where Alec finished the report and went home for the day. 

Alec felt a headache coming on as he walked through his front door and immediately went for his stash of pain relievers in his bedside table. He took two and then checked the time on his phone. Alec saw that he had an hour before Magnus got home so he decided to lay down for a quick nap. 

Alec woke later when Magnus’ hand started to run through his hair. He blinked a few times and slowly looked up towards his husband. “Hi.”

“Hi,” Magnus responded softly as he leaned down to kiss Alec’s forehead. “Rough day?”

“No, it actually wasn’t that bad. I just had a headache when I got home so I decided to lay down,” Alec answered as he pushed himself into a sitting position finding that he was pretty dizzy. 

Magnus noticed and grabbed Alec’s shoulders to steady him. “Alright, let’s lay you back down. Are you sure nothing happened today?” Magnus asked worriedly. He dimmed the lights and shut the curtains with a snap of his fingers before tucking Alec back into the bed. 

“Honestly, Mags, it was an easy day. I had a meeting with Izzy this morning about our weapons quarterly report, I had a security meeting with Underhill and Clary, and then Jace and I went over to Cat’s hospital and took care of a really minor demon. It’s just a headache,” Alec responded, trying his best to be calm for Magnus who was clearly concerned.

“Wait, you went to the hospital and now you aren’t feeling well?” Magnus replied, his tone sounding even more worried. 

“Mags-”

“Your dream. Last night, you had a dream about the same thing,” Magnus hurried out before Alec could respond.

Alec sat up, pushing through the dizzy fog he was still feeling. “Hey, I’m fine. I took some medicine and I’m sure my headache will be gone by tonight. I get tension headaches all the time.” 

“I know. I just...I’m worried. This is twice now that you have a nightmare and then it happens. I don’t like that the result is always you in pain,” Magnus admitted as he pulled Alec’s hands into his own. “I’m concerned as to why and how this is happening and if it escalates.” 

“Magnus, it’s okay. Nothing is going to happen to me,” Alec said as he moved to get off the bed. He grabbed his stele, activated his iratze, and waited for it to take effect. The ache in his head was still present, but the dizziness and nausea that had been building passed. “See, good as new.” 

Magnus nodded and leaned in for a kiss before standing up to head back out to the kitchen. He felt Alec grab his hand and turn him back around into a tight embrace. Alec knew that Magnus was still on edge and he needed to do something to comfort him.

“I will tell you if I start to feel worse and I will stay home if I feel sick. And I will share every dream I have with you, even the tiny little ones. I promise,” Alec whispered into his ear, emphasizing it with a kiss to Magnus’ temple. 

Magnus leaned back with a smile and pressed another kiss to Alec’s lips. “Thank you.”

\---

Magnus decided to summon a takeout order from one of their favorite restaurants and have a calm night. He ran a bath from them to share and they both went to bed early. He could tell the healing effects were still working through Alec’s body as he winced at the loud noises or bright flashes from the movie they watched. 

When they woke up the next morning, Magnus felt his suspicions from the previous night creep back up. Alec groaned when he woke up. His headache back in full force and he was now fully congested. He pushed with more than necessary effort of trying to sit up before Magnus eased him back onto the bed. 

“Can you call Izzy or Jace to tell them I’m not coming in?” Alec asked, his voice husky and tired. He closed his eyes and seemed to melt back into the bed before he reached out of the blanket to find Magnus’ hand. He squeezed his hand and said softly, “I’m going to be fine, Mags. Stop worrying.” 

Magnus couldn’t help the exasperated laugh that bubbled out. “You are something else, Alexander,” he replied as he bent down to kiss his forehead finding that it was feverishly warm. He ran his hand through Alec’s hair, pushing healing magic through his head to try and alleviate some of the pain. He couldn’t remove the symptoms entirely, but he could make it a little easier. 

“By the angel, you are amazing,” Alec mumbled as he somehow relaxed further into the bed and wrapped his arm around Magnus’ waist. Magnus smiled down at him and grabbed his phone off the nightstand to call Alec’s siblings. 

Magnus spoke to Isabelle quickly and then put his focus back onto Alec who nearly had fallen back asleep already. “Jace is also sick. Isabelle said Clary took him down to the infirmary this morning.” 

Alec groaned as he rolled onto his back. “You should take me to the infirmary too. Parabatai heal quicker if we are together,” Alec explained quietly. 

“Alright then, I’ll try to make sure you are upright for the least amount of time possible,” Magnus said as he used magic to change them both into different clothes. He helped Alec out of bed and opened a portal to the Institute’s infirmary. 

Magnus walked through the door and saw that the medics had given Jace a private room with another bed prepared for Alec. He helped Alec lay down and covered him up. Jace seemed somewhat better than Alec as he was sitting up eating soup and only looked feverish. 

“Did you knock him out or something?” Jace asked, his voice concerned as he looked at his parabatai next to him. 

“No, his fever is high and he’s had a terrible headache since yesterday afternoon. He was in bed when I got home last night,” Magnus explained, sitting beside Alec and rubbing his back comfortingly. 

“Why would he be more sick than Jace if they have the same thing?” Clary asked, looking very confused. “Mundane sickness is pretty much the same for everyone.” 

Magnus was quiet for a moment and then thought back to his conversation with Alec the previous day. “Alexander and I actually talked about this yesterday and he said the only time he has ever known Shadowhunters to contract mundane illness is when they are recovering from an injury or if they have a general low reserve. He is still recovering from that mission last week and I am sure that balances out somehow through their bond so Jace is experiencing it on a much smaller scale. I don’t know how correct that is, but maybe an explanation.”

Before Clary or Jace could respond, Izzy came through the doorway. “That is exactly right. My idiot brothers went into a germ hotbed while Alec was recovering from a major injury so they have the flu.” 

“Hey, not idiots, Cat needed help,” Alec mumbled from where his face was smushed into the pillow.

“Yes, she did and you literally could have sent anyone else but yourself and Jace. It was a baby Shax demon, Alec. You could have sent the interns,” Izzy answered with a healthy amount of sass as she sat on the side of Alec’s bed that Magnus wasn’t occupying. 

“Alright, Mom,” Alec said back with just as much sass as Izzy making Jace laugh. 

“If you weren’t so sick, I’d punch you,” Izzy said as she very carefully ruffled his hair. She really didn’t want to make him feel worse. 

Clary glanced at Izzy and made a motion towards Magnus who was looking very distant in thought. “What’s going on Magnus? You look deep in thought over there,” Clary asked.

Magnus startled from wherever he had gone mentally. “Sorry, I just have something on my mind about Alexander.”

“Hey, he’s going to be just fine. My brother has been through much worse than the flu,” Izzy asked confidently as she reached over and took his hand. 

Magnus nodded and looked down at Alec who was asleep now. “You’re right, Isabelle. You know me, I just worry about him.”

“Trust me, Magnus. I appreciate you taking care of him more than you will ever know.”


	3. Something is Clearly Going on Here

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I intended for this to be the last chapter, then it really got away from me while I was writing it and I liked where it went so not the end yet but closer!
> 
> Also! I will warn you that this chapter is incredibly dialogue heavy if that is not your thing.

For as quickly as Alec and Jace contracted the flu, they got over just the same. Jace was up and going that same night while Alec took another night to recover. Another week went by with simple missions, paperwork, client consultations, and even a date night for Alec and Magnus. 

Alec was fully healed from both the stab wound and flu; nightmares were almost completely forgotten on his part. Magnus, on the other hand, seemed to be waiting for the other shoe to drop. And as usual, Magnus’ intuition was correct when Alec woke up in a panic at 2 am. 

Chest heaving and tears building on his waterline, Alec shot into a sitting position, nearly knocking his head against Magnus’ who was hovering over him. “Alexander, I’m here. We are safe, in our bed. Try to breathe for me, darling.” 

“I...um...I can’t really...can’t breathe…” Alec gasped out as he had the blanket in a vice grip at his sides. 

“I know, love. It’s alright, just keep trying,” Magnus replied as he ran a soothing hand over Alec’s chest. He pulsed small, calm magic through knowing that it has grounded Alec in the past. He felt the muscles in Alec’s chest slightly relax, but he continued the motions for the next minute. 

Alec’s grip on the bed started to loosen and he moved one hand to rest over Magnus’ that was on his chest. “Please keep doing that,” Alec whispered. 

“Of course, as long as you keep breathing,” Magnus responded as he sent a warming wave of magic across Alec’s body and kissed his temple. 

Alec nodded in response and the next five minutes passed in silence with only Alec’s heavy breaths and the occasional kiss from Magnus. Alec finally shifted to sit back up on his own and moved his hand to rub at his eyes. “I’m sorry, Mags. I don’t know what is going on with me lately,” Alec said softly. 

“Alexander, you have nothing to apologize for. You cannot control your nightmares.” Magnus had been trying since he met Alec to help him realize that he is not at fault for everything and not everything needs an apology. 

“I know, but I hate making you worry,” Alec admitted as he turned to finally look at his husband. Alec’s eyes were red-rimmed and he looked exhausted. 

Magnus took Alec’s hand and pulled him closer. “Darling, there will never be a day where we stop worrying about each other. I’m just glad I can help. What can we do now?”

Alec moved towards the edge of the bed. “I think I’m going to get some tea or water or something. I can’t go back to sleep right now.”

“Alright, do you want to try sitting on the balcony? Fresh air might help,” Magnus offered as he moved the blankets off.

“Mags, you can go back to sleep. You have an early meeting tomorrow,” Alec replied as he turned to look at Magnus with a guilty expression. 

“I will be just fine. I have worked through much worse than a few hours without sleep,” Magnus said as he waved off Alec’s worry. He got out of bed and made his way around to the other side. He took Alec’s hand and led him out of the bedroom into the kitchen. “Chamomile or Valerian root?”

“Do we have lemon balm?” Alec asked quietly as he took a seat at the counter. 

Magnus waved a hand and a box of lemon balm tea appeared on the counter in front of him. “We do now,” he answered with a smile and wink in return. Alec returned the smile briefly before he went back to focusing on the countertop in front of him. “That one was obviously pretty horrible so if you don’t want to talk, I won’t push, but you know I will gladly listen to anything you want to share.”

Alec looked back at Magnus and his smile was much more genuine that time. “I...I’ve never had such a vivid and real dream in my entire life. I felt everything.” 

“What do you mean by you felt everything? Physically or emotionally?” Magnus asked. He knew sometimes Alec kept answers vague to protect Magnus’ feelings and other times, it was genuine confusion as to how to explain what he meant. 

“All of it. I literally felt everything. I don’t even know how to describe it,” Alec answered slowly, his voice tired but also distant. 

Magnus nodded while getting a tea bag out of the box. He had used a small bit of magic to speed up the kettle, but he knew they both enjoyed tea that was properly brewed. “Why don’t you try telling me what happened instead of feelings then? Maybe we can figure it out together.”

“I died,” Alec answered very bluntly, the pain tangible in his voice. 

The words startled Magnus who dropped the mug in his hand causing it to shatter across the kitchen floor. He stared back at Alec, unphased by the broken mug and unable to look away from his husband. “W-What?”

Alec wanted to go to Magnus and comfort him, but he couldn’t move from his chair. He had to look down at the counter to answer because he couldn’t seem to find words while looking back at Magnus. “I died. I watched myself die and it felt so real. I was watching it, but I also felt everything. The pain and the emotions and...and the fear...all of it,” Alec replied honestly as he felt the anxious feeling fill up his chest again.

Magnus snapped the mug back into one piece and set it on the counter behind him. He moved sharply and struggled to find anything to say in return as if he was in shock. They had both spoken about dreams in the past of replaying near death situations, nightmares of depression, and everything else in between. But, none of them had ever happened the next day as Alec’s have been for the past two weeks. 

“Tell me exactly what happened, Alexander. Do not leave out even the smallest detail,” Magnus then rushed out frantically. He had been worrying about these dreams constantly and this is exactly what he was terrified of happening. He summoned an old spell book from his apothecary while waiting for Alec to describe his dream. 

“Magnus, what is going on?” Alec asked, the stupor of his dream apparently broken. “Why do you need that?”

“Darling, you are an intelligent man. I know you can see a pattern here. I don’t know if we just haven’t been acknowledging properly or what, but something is happening that is not normal,” Magnus explained as he quickly flipped pages, scanning for anything that had to do with dreams.

Alec got up and walked around the counter to Magnus’ side. “I know the last couple weeks have been strange with sudden nightmares for me, but I’m probably just stressed, Mags.”

“Please, entertain my idea for a minute. Talk through it seriously...please,” Magnus begged Alec as he turned his attention away from the book towards his husband. 

“Okay, I promise I’m not doubting you. I would never. It just seems really...I don’t know, fairytale-ish that I would have psychic dreams,” Alec responded while attempting to run a comforting hand down Magnus’ back. 

“Alexander, I travel through portals and wield magic out of my fingertips. You kill demons in the night with angelic weapons and magic symbols on your body. We are fairy tales,” Magnus declared, nearly exasperated with the statement he had made. 

Alec nodded, breaking a slight smile. “Yeah, you’re right. I’m sorry, I’m not trying to upset you. Let’s go talk about this,” Alec said as he took Magnus’ hand and his spellbook while walking towards the balcony. 

“Thank you, that is all I ask,” Magnus replied as he sat beside Alec on the outdoor sofa. 

“So, I can see where you are coming from with the pattern. I had the dream about the mission going wrong with Iz. And the next day, it ended up happening, but it wasn’t exactly like the dream. I was different in a lot of ways like who was there and who did it, how I reacted and the others reacted,” Alec explained.

“Okay, that makes sense, but the event itself was the same with the same outcome,” Magnus replied, not skeptical of his husband but certainly the situation. 

“Yes, it was the same in that sense. Then the second dream about getting sick. That one was more in line with what actually happened, but like Izzy said, that was my mistake by going when I was still recovering,” Alec continued with his recap. He shrugged his shoulders and leaned back farther into the couch. 

Magnus nodded and took his hand. “I will say that your sister is right in saying that you shouldn’t have gone, especially to the hospital, but that is not the point. The point is that you had the dream the night before and then the same events followed the next day.” 

“I mean, when you put it that way, it does line up. And that day was exactly like the dream. Cat called, we went, we got sick, and recovered in the same place with the same people from the dream.”

Magnus shivered slightly and reached out for the spellbook. “I know it sounds a little crazy, Alexander, but I really think there is something making this happen. This is not something that just starts up naturally. We have both seen our fair share of the ‘unexplainable’ and the ‘coincidental’ turning out to be strategic plans with malevolent intentions. There is truly no such thing as a simple coincidence in our world, darling.”

“You’re right, Mags. I truly believe you are, but what do we do?” Alec asked, unsure of how he could stop his own dreams from happening. 

“Well, first of all, you are not going to do whatever it is you dreamt tonight because you are not dying, not if we can stop it,” Magnus answered firmly.

Alec took Magnus’ hand and brought it up to his lips. “It’s going to be okay, Magnus.”

“You can’t know that unless we figure out what we are dealing with. I won’t lose you, Alexander. I can’t, not now.”

Alec nodded and gave Magnus a sad smile. “Alright, where do you want to start then?”

“I know it was horrible, but we really need to talk about your dream. We have to know what to avoid, how to change the day. I know it sounds ridiculous, but let’s talk about it like it actually happened. Act like it is a debriefing or whatever it is that you Nephilims do.”

Alec offered him a tiny smile before jumping into his description. “I...it was a set up, I think. I was called in by the Clave for an appearance to the Seelie Court. There was a portal scheduled for me and when I went through, I was redirected somehow. I don’t even know where I was, but it was a dark room or...cell maybe. It honestly looked a little like the Gard in Idris, but I know it wasn’t. The details weren’t right and there weren’t any runes on the walls. It was almost, I don’t know, cryptic. I’m not even sure if that’s the right word,” Alec explained, his voice getting more tense as he headed back into the mindspace from earlier. 

“Okay, so do you think it was a Clave-related thing or someone capitalizing on a portal opportunity? Realistically, this could only be shadowhunters or warlocks,” Magnus responded as he tried to move closer for physical comfort. He could feel Alec’s anxiety ramping back up. 

Alec shrugged instinctively, but Magnus could see him thinking it through. “I don’t want it to seem like I’m defending the Clave, but I know how they function. They would never put that much trust into a warlock, no matter how reliable, to follow through if they were the ones planning it.”

“Sounds like the Clave,” Magnus responded as he rolled his eyes. “Alright, so nothing identifying about the location at all?” 

“I’ll be honest, Mags. I wasn’t really trying to remember it,” Alec admitted as he tightened his grip on Magnus’ hand. 

“It’s okay, don’t push yourself too much,” Magnus responded softly, leaning in to kiss Alec’s temple. “Let’s forget about that for right now. Do you remember if you saw anyone?”

Alec shook his head. “There were three people there, but all three of their faces were blurry. No matter how many times I tried to clear my vision, I could never actually see their faces, almost like they were censored or something.”

“Wait, were the faces foggy? Almost as if there was a cloud of smoke in front of their faces?” Magnus asked, suddenly leaning off the couch to grab his spellbook off the table. 

“Yeah, actually, that’s exactly how they looked. Do you know what it is?” Alec asked as he sat up to look over Magnus’ shoulder as he flew through the pages. 

“I didn’t think about the other side of the dream until you mentioned the blurry faces. There is a spell, well, a curse of sorts. Incredibly old, takes time and research to pull off...where is it…” Magnus rattled off as he continued to flip through the pages. 

Alec was about to respond when Magnus clearly found the page and startled Alec with his outburst. 

“I found it! _Ignota facies faciunt somnia vera facit_ ,” Magnus read from the page.

“Unknown faces make dreams come true,” Alec translated slowly, needing some time to work it out in his head. 

Magnus turned and smirked at his husband. “Have I ever told you how sexy it is when you do that?” 

“How is translating latin sexy?”

“Oh, so many things to learn, darling. You make everything sexy.” 

“Mags, focus,” Alec replied while his cheeks blushed from Magnus’ words. 

Magnus smiled and leaned over for a chaste kiss. “Anyway, we know it’s a warlock. It has to be someone quite old or classically educated. This isn’t any everyday magic. Like I said, this takes time and a lot of work to pull off,” Magnus explained, jumping straight back to work. 

“What is typically the goal with this curse? Dreams and paranoia until one results in death?”

“Not exactly. The curse can be formed to create a specific outcome, however, the outcome can only affect the victim. It couldn’t be used to incite any sort of mass change over a group of people like affecting politics or wars as a whole. It usually inflicts misfortune, pain, trauma, or death on the recipient. I would say in most cases the person using it wants it to end in death. It would be a lot of strenuous work for someone to go through without a high payout.”

“It’s like a magically-induced assisination,” Alec responded, sounding interested in the explanation but disgusted in the result. 

“That is a very good comparison. The person inflicting the curse ends with little blood on their own hands physically as the dream manipulates the person’s reality to conform to the dream landscape. Like I said, very difficult magic and hard to control. This warlock is highly experienced and highly motivated.”

“This may be a dumb question, but why me? I understand that I’m a little more well known than before our marriage, but what good would possibly come from killing me? Especially for a warlock,” Alec asked, his voice confused and almost apologetic sounding for asking the question at all. 

Magnus sighed and leaned into Alec’s side. “Alexander, you seriously underestimate yourself. I would go out on a limb and say you are one of the most, if not the most, well-known living Nephilim in the Shadow World. Whether it is well-known with support or disagreement, I can’t imagine a member of the Shadow World that doesn’t at least know your name. You were well known as a normal Lightwood even before Biscuit showed up and everything changed. All of that aside, how many Shadowhunters have married a warlock in the Institute that they control with members of both the Clave and the Downworld present?” 

“Well, I guess when you put it like that,” Alec mumbled back in somewhat surprise. 

“Now, we do need to make a plan as to how we are going to figure who is doing this to you and how we are going to make sure you stay safe, but we both need more sleep if we are going to do that properly,” Magnus announced as he stood and offered his hand to Alec.

“Do you think...what if I have another dream, the same one or a different one?” Alec asked, anxious and uncertain. “It was horrible, Mags. I don’t want to ever feel that way again.” 

“I’ve never personally dealt with this curse before and I can’t promise anything, but I can give you something for sleep and try to protect your mind. I have a few tricks of my own,” Magnus responded, trying to keep his answer light and positive. 

Alec didn’t seem fully convinced, but he took Magnus’ hand and stood with him anyway. 

“Hey, come here,” Magnus said as he pulled Alec into his arms. “I understand, I do. I would hate for you to wake up as terrified as you were before, but you cannot stop sleeping, Alexander. That’s how the paranoia starts and you won’t be able to protect yourself. I promise you, I will do everything I can to make sure you can sleep soundly and safely.”

Alec tightened the embrace and leaned further into Magnus. “I trust you, Magnus. I know you can fix this.”


	4. When Dreams Become a Forced Reality

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I keep writing and then I'm never ready to end it so I'm making no promises this time!

Alec woke hours later feeling fully rested and relaxed which was incredibly surprising. He had trusted Magnus to take care of him, but he knew there were some things that couldn’t be solved no matter how much magic was used. He opened his eyes searching for his husband to tell him how grateful he was for his peaceful sleep, but he was met with an empty bed. 

He turned on his side and saw that it was nine o’clock meaning Magnus had already left and maybe finished his morning meeting. Alec moved to get off the bed when he heard a voice from somewhere outside the bedroom. 

“I know! I’ve been reading all morning and I have nothing so far. We can at least stop today from happening since we know, but what if the dreams change and I can’t stop it? What if-”

Alec knew he should get up and let Magnus know he was awake, but he knew Magnus would stop his conversation as soon as he knew Alec could hear. He wouldn’t let Alec know if he was uncertain yet; he needed time to figure this out and Alec knew Magnus would hold back in an effort to protect both of them from painful conversations. 

“Cat, I don’t know what I will do if I lose him. I’m not ready; I will never be ready, but I know I cannot handle it right now, not when I should be the one who can figure out how to stop it.” 

As much as Alec wanted to let his husband’s conversation with Cat keep going, he had to go comfort him. He could not sit in their bedroom and let Magnus begin to break down so he pushed himself up and made his way out into the kitchen. He was met with Magnus pacing the living room, his phone somehow magically suspended next to his ear while he held a different book from last night in both his hands. 

“Mags?” Alec asked softly, hoping not to startle him. 

“Alexander, you’re awake!” Magnus called out as he spun around to face Alec. “Cat, I have to go,” he rushed out. The book disappeared from his hands, most likely into his apothecary and his phone fell down onto the couch. “How are you feeling? How did you sleep?”

“I’m good, babe, I promise. No nightmares or anxiety or anything,” Alec replied as he stepped forward to take Magnus’ hands. “How are you?” 

Magnus took the small step closer and wrapped his arms around Alec’s waist. “I...I’m worried, darling. I’ve never dealt with this curse before and everything so far has come up empty.”

Alec pulled Magnus in tighter, wrapping his arms around Magnus’ shoulders. “You know you don’t have to do this alone, right?”

Magnus seemed startled by that statement and pulled away from Alec in confusion. “What? I mean, I know I have you here and I can call Cat, but I have to keep you safe and-”

“Mags, look at me,” Alec said as he gently took Magnus’ face into his hands. “You are not the one responsible for what is going on and we have a lot of people who care about us. We don’t have to figure this out alone.” 

Magnus stepped back into Alec’s embrace and nodded into his chest. “You’re right. I’m sorry, I can’t help it. I’m still not used to...to having a support system beyond Catarina and Ragnor.”

“You don’t have to apologize, Magnus. I understand; that’s why I am here to remind you,” Alec replied softly with a kiss on the temple. “But we are on some sort of time frame here so here’s what I’m thinking.”

“Of course you have a plan,” Magnus mumbled into Alec’s shoulder. 

“You love my plans,” Alec replied as he kissed Magnus’ temple again. “Anyway, we have breakfast and coffee while you give me a rundown of what you do know about it. Last night’s conversation is a little foggy for me. Then we get together everything you think would be helpful to read, talk through, or use for researching this thing and we set it up at the table. We’ll call anyone who will help look through things: Cat, Ragnor, Iz, Jace, anyone you want. I will make sure I do not go anywhere alone and I won’t leave unless I absolutely have to. How does that sound?”

“That’s a good plan.”

“My plans are always good,” Alec joked as he squeezed Magnus’ sides. He was trying anything to lighten his husband’s mood. 

“You are ridiculous,” Magnus said with a laugh as he pulled away but offered his hand to Alec. “Let’s go have breakfast.”

\---

“What about erasing the memories of the dream?” Jace offered as he skimmed the pages about memory with Clary next to him who was taking notes from another book.

Cat shook her head with a sad smile for shutting down yet another one of Jace’s suggestions. “This curse is a tricky thing. If we erase the memory, then Alec can’t recall the threat towards him. I believe the dream scenario would occur whether he remembered it or not.” 

“Makes sense,” Jace replied as he continued reading. Clary wrote down Cat’s answer and crossed off something from her and Jace’s shared list. 

Alec patted Jace on the shoulder in thanks while he went to go get another round of coffee for everyone. Ragnor and Izzy were having a conversation about something they found in a passage about dreams while Magnus’ focus was split between the book in front of him and Alec who seemed slightly out of breath in the kitchen. 

Magnus watched as Alec held the counter with both hands and ducked his head to hide his difficulty breathing. He then saw Jace look up in confusion at Alec as if he felt something through their bond. Jace was about to speak when Magnus beat him to it. “Alexander, are you alright?” 

Alec’s grip on the counter tightened until his knuckles were white and he shook his head in response. Magnus had crossed the room in seconds and was trying to provide any comfort he could while the others left their books and made their way into the kitchen. 

“Alec, can you tell me where your pain is?” Cat asked calmly as she walked around the counter to his other side, healing magic ready on her fingertips. 

With a few gasps of air, Alec finally rushed out, “m-my chest is on f-fire…”

Before Cat could let her magic flow forward, Magnus’ hand stopped her. He pushed himself farther into his husband’s vision as he spoke. “Darling, is it anxiety chest pain or different chest pain?” 

“Different,” Alec and Jace responded at the same time as the others looked up to find Jace leaning against the counter opposite Alec, not winded or in pain but still uncomfortable. 

“This is different pain from his anxiety or mine. I’ve never felt this feeling between us before,” Jace answered for Alec who was still struggling to entirely fill his lungs. Clary ran her hand across Jac’s shoulders which seemed to be enough comfort for him to relax his shoulders.

Cat then raised her hand to relieve his pain when she was cut off once again. This time, thankfully, by Alec dropping his body down onto the counter in relief. Everyone could hear him breathing more easily and his body was no longer tense. She stepped away and let Magnus comfort him for a moment while everyone was silent. 

“That was definitely curse related, right?” Jace asked, breaking the nervous silence.

“I hate for this to sound insensitive, but I believe that is when Alec was meant to die,” Ragnor explained with an attempt at a comforting pat on Jace’s shoulder. “He did not fulfill the dream scenario today and it led the magic involved to become confused. When it comes to something like a curse, magic is very aware of time. The magic should be done working now so it responds appropriately to the timeline.”

“Meaning his pain is going to continue and most likely get worse every time he alters the result of the dream…” Izzy added with a questioning tone to it as if she wanted confirmation. 

“Unfortunately, I would assume so,” Ragnor replied, shifting his comfort from Jace to Isabelle. 

Alec sighed as he pushed himself upright and leaned into Magnus. “I can’t wait for that,” he said sarcastically as he tried to stand on his own resulting in a dizzy wobble. He immediately grabbed back onto Magnus for support. 

“Alright, you need to lie down. Jace, help me get him in bed?” Magnus said as he motioned for Jace to come over. He knew how much contact helped the parabatai settle when either of them was in pain or crisis. 

As they took Alec to the bedroom, Clary turned back to the section she was reading in the book about dreams and decided to ask about it. “Um, Cat, could you listen to this and see if you think it would be helpful?”

“Of course, what have you found?” Cat replied as she made her way around the table to where Clary was now sitting. 

“Lucid dreaming. There is a part here that says lucid dreaming can help you reveal things that may normally be hidden in dreams. Being lucid allows one to interact with the dream environment, to question their surroundings, and to make choices that can alter results. That could help, right?”

Cat shared a knowing look with Ragnor before she nodded with a smile. “You are absolutely right, Clary.” 

\---

Alec woke an hour later, thankful that he did not sleep long enough to enter a dream state again. He was tired, but he was thankful that the burning in his chest had left. He also heard a lot of conversation from outside the bedroom that sounded much more positive than earlier. Alec slowly sat up and waited to see if he was dizzy before getting up and going out to hear what they had figured out. 

“Big brother, you’re awake! How are you feeling?” Izzy immediately asked as she met him halfway with a hug. 

“I’m alright, Iz. Just tired,” Alec answered honestly as he looked at a much more positive group of people sitting in their living room. “So, I take it you found something.”

“What do you know about lucid dreaming, Alec?” Ragnor asked without any other introduction.

Alec visibly flinched which concerned everyone in the room. “I know more than enough. This will break the curse?”

“We believe so, yes.”

“Of course...damn it,” Alec sighed as he let his head fall back to face the ceiling. Magnus and Jace shared a concerned look before Alec continued talking. “Alright, do I have to use the dream to gather information or will I be able to change the outcome?”

“Hang on a second, how do you know all this?” Jace asked curiously. He and Alec knew pretty much every detail about each other so he was confused as to how he missed something that so clearly affected his parabatai. 

Alec sighed again and made his way into the room, sitting on the coffee table so he wasn’t close enough to anyone for physical contact. He wasn’t sure how everyone was going to react and he knew that Magnus would make him stop talking if he became stressed. “Well, as you all know, I chose archery as my specialty weapon. Each weapon has a very specific training plan when you learn how to master it. Archery is...the training for archery is much different than all the other disciplines.”

“How would lucid dreaming be involved in weapon training?” Cat asked. She was confused by quite a bit of Nephilim logic, but this one was especially strange. 

“Nephilim fighting styles are almost all close proximity, hand to hand reliant. Archery is the only true distance weapon that Shadowhunters can use which is why it is so rare. It is the only weapon that requires what they call ‘tactical observation’. That training is, um, intense, I guess would be a good word,” Alec explained. Jace and Izzy looked at him with surprise, not aware of anything Alec was talking about.

“Is that the part that you had to go to the Silent Brothers for?” Izzy asked, recalling an argument from their childhood about Alec getting to go study with the Silent Brothers while no one else did.

Alec rolled his shoulders back and ran a hand through his hair, his obvious tell when he is stressed or anxious. “Part of it is weapon preparation. They teach you how to rune your bow and wrap arrows in adamas. The rest is the tactical training which is mostly lucid dreaming.”

“I hope this doesn’t sound stupid, but how can they teach you to lucid dream?” Clary interjected. Her curiosity winning out over her concern momentarily.

“It’s not stupid, Clary. I know how crazy it sounds. It was certainly a crazy experience,” Alec responded which made sense to everyone. “They started by teaching me meditation, like I said, archery is rare so I was alone in training. I was taught how to meditate and materialize my thoughts. They called it forcing reality which is what you do in lucid dreams.”

“What do you mean by materializing your thoughts? Like summoning?” Ragnor asked, intrigued by a training method he had not known of for Nephilim. 

Alec shook his head and responded, “Definitely not that level of ability. It had to be an item that was closely familiar with and have an emotional tie to the item. It really is only supposed to be used for the weapon itself. That is why they teach it. Here, I’ll show you.”

Jace was about to speak when Magnus hushed him. Magnus knew Alec had to have some sort of ability with his bow because he had seen the bow appear out of nowhere many times and he was never convinced that it was a glamour. 

Alec closed his eyes and called for his bow which quickly appeared in his hand from its place by the front door. “It’s very simple for me now, but it took a long time to get so casual with the reflex. It is also escalated when I am in a threatening situation. Sometimes it appears in my hand without even thinking about it if I feel the need to defend myself or someone else.” 

“Fascinating,” Ragnor mumbled as he wrote something down in a notebook. 

“That is the first step in changing the environment in lucid dreams. Using the mind to ask for something that is not present or not visible,” Alec explained as his siblings still seemed confused. 

“Does the bow need to be close for that to happen?” Ragnor asked again, clearly on a different track from the explanation at the moment. 

Alec shook his head again. “No, I can reach it from anywhere at this point. It may just take a little longer. Mags, can you send my bow to my office?”

With a snap of his fingers, the bow disappeared and Magnus confirmed it was at the Institute. Alec closed his eyes again and a few seconds later, the bow appeared yet again. “I would say it is different from your type of summoning because I cannot send it anywhere. I can only bring it to me.”

“The secrets never end with you Nephilim,” Ragnor commented again, clearly joking but still making notes. 

“I don’t think it is supposed to be a secret. Archers are rare so not many people have been through it and those that have, don’t tend to talk about it,” Alec replied, his voice getting quieter towards the end of the statement.

Cat could notice some frustration from Magnus in not really getting an answer to the lucid dreaming trauma that seemed to be apparent. “As interesting as all of this is, can I ask what was difficult about the training? Something clearly affected you; we could all see it in the way you reacted.”

“Uh, yeah, meditation is meant to help you create mental confidence that you can have awareness of reality in dreams. The dream landscape is supposed to teach you how to see all threats from different perspectives and observe actions that can be taken from a distance before they become close range threats. That is the majority of what I do in the field. Protect from a distance rather than engage. I had to meditate before the Brothers would put me under and then they would go in...basically, they would force me to dream. Whether it was runes or some sort of magic, I don’t know. I was never awake enough to see what they were doing, but they always had something planned. I had to use the meditation training to escape the threats in the dream or I had to figure out how to protect the others in the dream,” Alec finally explained. It was long-winded, but the hesitation made sense now.

“They manipulated your dreams?” Magnus asked. He was clearly offended on Alec’s behalf. “They went into your mind and played what they wanted you to see?”

Alec nodded and took a deep breath. “I never talked about it because it was too difficult to explain when I was young and I knew I would get no sympathy from my parents. Now it just...now it hurts to think about. Most of the dreams included you two,” Alec said as he pointed to Jace and Izzy. “You didn’t always...I couldn’t always save you.” 

Jace made a sound that was comparable to a whimper and Izzy crossed the room quickly to hug her brother. Clary was comforting Jace while the three warlocks shared disgusted looks. 

“That’s torture. I don’t care what pathetic excuse for training the Clave wraps around it. You were a child and that is torture,” Cat spit out, picturing Madzie in a situation like that. 

Alec laughed, but the sound was empty. “I appreciate the concern, Cat. I really do, but they don’t care about our mental health or the effects of what they do to us. They care about power.” 

Before anyone else could respond, Magnus spoke up again. “Alexander, you don’t have to do this. We can look for more solutions. I don’t want to put your mind at risk.” 

“It’s okay, Mags. There is much more at risk that just my mind if we don’t do it. I still meditate now and I find comfort in doing it. If it means I can stop this curse and stop everyone’s stress, I’ll do it,” Alec answered as he broke away from Izzy’s hug to go to his husband. 

“We’ll be here, darling. I will be here. We won’t leave you to it alone and we will protect you,” Magnus declared strongly as he grabbed Alec’s hands. 

“I know, Magnus. Like I said before, I trust you. We can fix this.”


	5. Wake Up, It's Just a Dream

“So, can he break the curse on his own in the dream or do we have to wait for him to tell us who is actually using the curse?” Clary asked as the group sat around the table without Alec. He had secluded himself to the balcony after dinner to start his meditation routine. 

“I’m not certain, but I do not believe there is anything he could actually do to harm the warlocks in his dream. It is still a dream landscape and like Alec said, sometimes others were injured or worse when he used to have those dreams and it never actually occurred in reality,” Ragnor explained.

“That makes sense, but how do we find these people once Alec figures out what they look like?” Jace questioned. It was easy to see that the parabatai’s worry was continuing to grow the longer Alec was at risk. 

Magnus squeezed Jace’s shoulder in an attempt to comfort him. “The warlock community is not that big and most of us have been around for quite a while. If we don’t know these warlocks directly, someone we do know can tell us. I promise you, we will find them.” 

Izzy nodded gratefully in agreement with Magnus before she asked, “And if he doesn’t have a nightmare tonight? The others were all a week apart.”

“It does seem fairly patterned so I believe two things could occur. He will go another week before a dream appears or the dreams will persist due to the incomplete outcome from today,” Ragnor answered. He had talked through multiple scenarios with Catarina before deciding those were the most likely processes of the curse. 

Before Izzy could respond, Alec’s voice startled the group. “Mags, I can’t focus if you keep pulsing your magic through our rings!”

“Sorry, darling!” Magnus called back, his cheeks turning pink and his hand finding his ear cuff quickly after. There was a laugh from Alec’s siblings and a raised eyebrow from Ragnor. “What? I’m a worried husband; I reserve every right to check on him,” Magnus defended. 

“I’m not going to tell you to stop worrying because that would be unfair. I will tell you to have some faith in him and all of us. Nothing is going to stop us from helping him. Alec is important to all of us in different ways, naturally some more than others. It may not be easy, but he is going to be alright, Magnus,” Cat declared firmly. 

Magnus could only nod in response and found Jace and Isabelle in a similar state. There was a silent gratitude shared between the three at someone else recognizing Alec’s worth. It had always baffled Magnus how Alec’s parents and everyone else Clave-related around them were blind to how incredible Alec was, personally and professionally.

“Since it is not very likely that Alec will know the warlocks involved, how are we going to figure out who they are? Is a description from him going to be enough?” Clary asked genuinely after the silent moment had passed.

“Alexander is usually very panicked after waking up from the dreams, but he is also observant. Even when he doesn’t mean to recall the dream, he remembers details. He is going in with the intention of gathering that information so I have no doubt that he will be able to piece together something useful,” Magnus answered genuinely. He had some worry that they may have to pull the memory from Alec if he struggled like the last time, but they will cross that bridge if they have to. 

“Do you mind if we use your guest rooms until we fix this?” Jace asked nervously. “I don’t think...I need to be close to him right now.” 

“Of course, you are all always welcome here. Let me know if you need anything from the Institute,” Magnus replied as he started to clear the table by hand. 

Ragnor and Catarina watched as Magnus made his way into the kitchen and as the other Shadowhunters moved towards the bedrooms before Cat spoke quietly. “If we lose Alec this way...to this magic, there will be no getting Magnus back this time. No one will be enough to lift the burden from him.”

“You are absolutely right. That’s why we are not losing anyone.” Ragnor answered firmly as he took her hand before pulling her towards the kitchen to say goodnight to Magnus.

\---

“What if I just don’t go to sleep tonight?” Alec whispered as they lay in bed. True to the pattern of the curse, it had been a week since the last nightmare. It hadn’t been a peaceful week by any means as it was filled with constant worry. Alec had never spent so much time in his life meditating, but he had used the time to improve his focus and abilities in an attempt to rid the lingering soreness of his childhood training and replace it with skill and appreciation. 

Magnus turned on his side and ran his fingers across Alec’s jaw. “Trust me, darling, I wish it were that simple, but I’m afraid of what may happen if you don’t sleep. It could force you into a nightmare or it could be even worse when you eventually have to sleep.”

“You’re right. I just...I hate the feeling when I wake up. I hate putting both of us through that,” Alec responded as he leaned his head further into Magnus’ comforting touch. 

“Alexander, we both have experienced our fair share of nightmares and the aftermath is never a pretty thing. You are not putting me through something. If anything, I am grateful that we trust each other to be the person that is there for it. Whatever your mind is telling you, remember that I have never and will never see you as a burden,” Magnus said without question in his voice. 

Alec curled further into Magnus’ touch and kissed him. “I love you.”

“I love you too. Let’s get some sleep and we will deal with whatever comes together,” Magnus replied and then situated both of them into a more comfortable sleep position. Within minutes, both of them were fast asleep. 

A few hours passed before Magnus was woken by Alec’s fidgeting movements. He slowly moved his hand into Alec’s where it had a vice grip on the duvet. They had talked about this reaction throughout the week. Typically, Magnus would immediately start to wake Alec up to end the nightmare, however, he couldn’t do that now. Alec needed to stay in so he could figure out the people and maneuver his way throughout the landscape. 

Magnus heard footsteps coming from down the hall and he knew it was Jace. There had also been a discussion between the three men if it were okay for Jace to come in if he felt a nightmare happening. Magnus felt comfort in having Jace there who could explain what he was feeling from Alec through the bond and two sources of grounding comfort for Alec. 

After what felt like hours, Jace finally broke the silence. “He’s confused, but it’s an angry confused. Not like he’s lost or looking for something, like when he’s trying to figure out why someone made a stupid decision.”

“I assume you recognize that feeling well,” Magnus replied as his lips twitched up at the corners. 

“Rude,” Jace cut back with a similar look before his focus went back to Alec. 

Silence fell over the room once again. Magnus kept his thumb on the pulse point in Alec’s wrist for comfort. There had been some close calls over the few years they had been together, however, this one felt the farthest from Magnus’ control. Normally, he could actively help in some way whereas now, he was just stuck waiting and he hated it. 

Both Jace and Magnus tightened their grip on Alec’s hands when they saw his eyes start moving frantically beneath his eyelids. Alec moved his head side to side briefly before a very quiet ‘how could you’ was whispered into the room making both of them flinch. If Alec knew who was doing this, it would change things. Everyone had assumed it was a warlock that no one really knew. 

They shared a knowing look before Alec suddenly gasped awake, startling both of them. Alec moved into a sitting position and immediately covered his face with his hands. Magnus leaned closer and ran his hand along Alec’s back in an attempt to comfort him. Jace sat beside the bed in quiet support, waiting for Alec to tell him to stay or go. 

Alec mumbled something into his hands that neither of the other men could understand. His breathing was clearly still rushed and uneven so Magnus encouraged him to take his time. As he watched his husband recover from the dream, Magnus couldn’t help but feel thankful seeing as this was much more calm than Alec’s typical wake up has been. 

“Pen...hired...friends…” Alec was trying to explain something again, but Magnus and Jace could only make out a few words. 

Magnus was running through all the warlocks he had ever known trying to recall someone named Pen while Jace was trying to talk through ideas with Alec. “Okay, someone hired a warlock. Is that right?” Jace asked, receiving a nod in response.

“You’re doing great, darling. Just keep breathing,” Magnus whispered again deciding to let Jace take over the questioning part and just be a caring husband for Alec. 

“Do you know who hired the warlock, Alec? Did you see them?” 

“E-Everlake,” Alec answered more firmly. His breathing had started to become more normal and he wasn’t as tense. 

“Everlake? Pen Everlake? Are you sure, Alec?” Jace asked, the surprise clear in his voice. 

Magnus tried racking his brain to remember the Lightwoods ever talking about an Everlake family and he couldn’t come up with anyone by that name. He really never made it a point to learn more Shadowhunters than he had to in the past, but he couldn’t decide if it was a good or bad thing that he had never heard of this family name. 

“You said friends, Alexander. Are the Everlakes friends of the Lightwoods?” Magnus asked, hoping he didn’t push too far. 

Alec looked up to answer but was visibly grateful when Jace replied for him. “The Everlakes are prominent in Idris. Bloodline goes back forever with Clave officials and powerful marriages. They work and marry for status. Officially on Clave record, an Everlake has never left Alicante. They only hold positions within the Clave or nothing at all. They do not take missions outside of Idris, so no assignments, and no family member has ever headed an Institute. From what Clary and Simon have taught me about Mundane structures, I would compare them to British royalty in the way they act rather than true Nephilim.”

“I had no idea there were families like that. I feel like that is something that would be boasted by the Clave,” Magnus responded, genuinely confused that he had never heard of the family. 

“They are not actually well liked by most. Their children are spoiled brats and I don’t even know how many of them actually physically train. The ones who make it into official positions are typically hard-working when it comes to politics. Most people think it’s unfair that they never get assigned to any type of work. I’ve never heard of an Everlake killing a demon.”

“Why would you consider them friends then?”

Jace gave Alec a sad smile before answering again. “Pen, well, Penelope and Peter Everlake are currently the youngest family members. They are our age and came up with us in the academy when we were there. Alec spent more time with them because he actually lived in Idris when he was young. The twins were friends at that time. They were different from their family when we were younger. The Everlakes actually tried to arrange for Pen and Alec to get married when they were young, but they called it off when the Circle stuff went down. I think they sided with Maryse and Robert, but they could never let that on to the Clave. It’s always about image with them.” 

“Not that I want to question your judgment, darling, but you are certain it was them,” Magnus then addressed Alec. It seemed very believable that these Everlakes could be persuaded by their family, but he wanted to be sure before they moved in on them. 

Alec nodded and finally seemed ready to talk for himself. “Yeah, it was Pen, Pete, and their dad with a warlock I’ve never seen before.”

Magnus nodded and summoned a glass of water for Alec. “Describe him.”

Alec closed his eyes to review the images in his head. “Red hair and beard that was not kept at all. His hands look like they were covered in burns that never healed. The scars were brutal.”

“Do Clave officials have access to the Gard at anytime?” 

“Realistically, yes. As long as they don’t create chaos, the officials can do rounds whenever they want to. Why?” Jace answered, intrigued by Magnus’ question. 

“The warlock you just described is Eoin Connor. He has been imprisoned in the Gard since the 1870s. In a fight gone wrong, he blew up the Chicago Institute and caused the Great Chicago Fire. The work put into creating a cover up for the mundanes was horrible on the Nephilim and Warlock side of things. It took the Clave years to recreate the Nephilim presence in Chicago after that. His punishment from the warlock side of things was the inability to heal his hands. It was to serve as a reminder for all the lives he had taken, especially mundane,” Magnus explained, getting slightly emotional with the memory. 

“So we just go to the Gard and force him to reverse it? What about the Everlakes?” Jace asked.

Magnus took a deep breath while he thought. “I am not sure how things will be handled on the Nephilim side. Alexander, I am sure you will have to discuss this with Jia, but you will be Inquisitor in a month’s time. You will certainly get to handle them. As for Eoin, he will be an easy fix. We can have him undo the curse without problem.”

“I know he’s in the Gard, but I’m sure he will be resistant, won’t he?” Alec asked quietly, still drifting in weird in between space. 

“No, he will not resist at all if we bring Catarina. She was on the warlock council at the time of his sentencing. She offered the punishment of his hands and she oversees the magic that stops his healing factors. Eoin owes Catarina his life because she is the reason he was not put to death,” Magnus answered simply, the pride in his friend coming through in his words. 

“Damn, sounds like we have a plan then,” Jace stated, making all three of them sigh in relief.


	6. Now the Dreamer Has Control

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The long awaited conclusion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Friends! I am so sorry that it has taken so long to get this final part posted. I nearly lost my computer to damage and had to pay for data retrieval to get my saved schoolwork and personal writing back. Schoolwork had to be the priority so it took awhile to get all the files back. I thought about rewriting it, but I knew I wanted the ending that I wrote so I waited. I hope it was worth the wait. Thank you for all of your support and your patience! With love, as always!

“So, do you know how this works? What will it do to him?” Jace asked as he paced the kitchen. He had been concerned with how little information they really had and he was nervous about the effects everything would have on Alec. 

“I’ll be honest, I have never seen this exact curse reversed as it is very rare. However, I have witnessed other curse reversals and in my experience, the host has not been harmed. People have described it as feeling like a hangover or cold. Headache and fatigue are extremely likely and some nausea or dizziness too,” Ragnor answered as he tried to recall the few times he had seen someone figure out a curse quick enough to reverse it. 

Alec nodded and tried to give Jace a reassuring look. “Okay, I can handle that. Anything else we need to discuss?”

Magnus moved to stand behind Alec who was seated at the table and rested his hands on Alec’s shoulders to try and relax him as he saw some tension still there before running through the plan. “You have spoken to Jia and we have permission to enter the Gard with Catarina and Jace. Isabelle and Clary will stay here at the loft with Ragnor ready to come in as backup should anything happen. We will come back here for you to rest and when you are ready, you and Jia will handle the Everlakes. I really do believe it should be simple.”

“Is anything ever simple with us?” Jace mumbled as he turned out of the kitchen to go finish getting ready. Alec felt the fear and frustration radiating through the bond as Jace stomped off down the hallway. 

Clary moved to walk after him, but Alec stopped her. “Let him have a few minutes, Clary. He’s worried and then he will lash out at you which will make him feel worse. He’ll simmer down once he has some time to think through it.”

“What’s got him so worked up? We’ve figured it out,” Cat said, her voice confused.

“My brothers tend to see the worst case scenario as the only scenario,” Izzy responded before Alec could answer. He glared at her, but Alec knew that she was right. 

“Alec, everything is going to be fine,” Cat replied, clearly just as exasperated as Izzy. 

Alec leaned further back into Magnus, clearly comforting himself. “We don’t know that for sure and that is what Jace is thinking. It’s just...I don’t know...I guess we’re still getting used to things like this going right for us, for him. His childhood was horrible before he was gifted with the overbearing presence of my parents. It has always been me trying to look out for Jace and Isabelle. He’s not used to us having a support system of people we can trust.”

“Well, trust me when I say this. Magnus is not the only one who gained family when you two married. I’m not going to speak for Ragnor, but I happen to like you a lot so we are going to look out for you. Get used to it, Lightwood,” Cat said firmly with a smirk. Izzy was unable to hide her smile as she took in her brother’s shock. 

Alec ducked his head with a blush and mumbled, “It’s Lightwood-Bane, but thanks, Cat.”

“See, that’s exactly why I like you,” Cat laughed as she flicked Alec’s forehead. Magnus, who found the entire conversation adorable, leaned over and followed that with a kiss. “Now, let’s get this show on the road. I’m losing vacation time at the hospital by the minute.” 

“Okay, I’ll go get Jace.” Alec quickly made his way across the loft, clearly still caught up in the answer he received from Cat. 

\---

Catarina and Jace were standing outside the Consul’s office waiting for Magnus and Alec to finish their private conversation with Jia. She wanted to be fully briefed of the plan before they entered the holding cells. Jace took that time to question Catarina with every possible outcome he could come up with.

“But what if-“

“Oh for Lilith’s sake, Jace, I know you are worried, but stop with the questions. Even if something does happen, Magnus has extensive knowledge of all things magic related, I am an incredibly skilled healer, and you are his parabatai. Whatever happens, which will probably be nothing, we can fix it. Ragnor was serious when he said it’s like ” Cat declared, her voice exasperated from Jace’s constant scenarios. 

“I know this seems like I don’t trust you, believe me, I trust both you and Magnus with my life, but we just figured out that my brother has a life-threatening curse hanging over his head. The thought of Alec dying...I’ve lived through a lot of shit, Catarina. If Alec dies, it will kill me,” Jace admitted with a tight voice. 

Cat looked over at him in sympathy. “Listen, I know it’s probably hard to believe that three random warlocks that you didn’t even know a couple years ago have your best interest at heart so I am going to put it this way. I’ve known and cared for Magnus for literally centuries. I know for a fact that it would also kill Magnus if we lost Alec and I have no intention of ever losing Magnus. Nothing, and I mean nothing, will happen to Alec today. I won’t let it. Good enough for you?”

“Yeah, I got it,” Jace replied quietly with his head ducked. “Thanks, Cat.”

—-

Catarina and Magnus followed Jace and Alec as they walked down the warlock section of the Gard. They came to an abrupt stop in front of the cell they needed and Alec thanked the guide and dismissed the guards. The warlock inside turned when he realized the group stopped for him and his eyes grew in surprise. 

“Catarina. Magnus. Hello, what are you doing here? I’m not due a visit from the council for another 5 years,” Eoin said quickly as his eyes shifted to Jace and Alec standing behind them. 

“We are not here on behalf of the council. We are here on personal business,” Cat answered as she noticed that Magnus was already struggling to keep his emotions reigned in. 

“Oh, well, what might that be?” 

Magnus took a small step forward and then turned slightly to allow Eoin to fully see Jace and Alec. “Well, Eoin, I’m here to introduce you to someone. This is my husband, Alexander Lightwood-Bane, soon-to-be Inquistor of the Clave.” 

All of the color drained from Eoin’s face as his eyes grew in shock. “B-Bane...as in Magnus Bane, oh Lilith, I didn’t...Magnus, you have to believe me when I say I never would have...I didn’t even connect the name. I never would have thought you would marry a Shadowhunter. I was...They promised me an early release. I wouldn’t have-“

Magnus stepped towards the cell and raised his voice. “Enough!” 

Alec stepped forward and took Magnus’ hand. “Hey, let’s slow down, Mags. I know he isn’t innocent, but this isn’t entirely his fault either,” he said quietly between them. Magnus leaned into Alec for comfort and looked up at him. Alec smiled and gave him a nod of encouragement. Magnus then motioned for Catarina to step forward and take over, but Alec stepped in front of both of them, taking his traditional soldier stance. 

“I’m going to be honest with you, Mr. Connor. My family is very upset with you and that is putting it lightly. However, I know you were persuaded or coerced in some way by the Everlake family to place this curse on me. I would like to take your statement so I can put them on trial before the Clave. Catarina will be responsible for gathering a decision from the warlock council regarding your consequence in this matter as I intend to maintain proper justice channels even though I am personally involved. I also would like the curse reversed as soon as possible because not only have I experienced considerable pain and suffering from this, but you have caused great stress to my family. I do not take kindly to those who hurt my family, Mr. Connor,” Alec explained firmly in his ‘Inquistor’ voice as Jace and Izzy call it. 

Magnus and Jace stood behind Alec with proud smiles while Cat crossed her arms and held a smirk similar to the one Alec was sporting. They watched as Eoin took a small step back and ducked his head in assumed shame. “I see why they are afraid of you.”

“I’m sorry?” Alec asked genuinely, not sure what he meant by that statement. 

“The Everlakes, they said the curse was with the intention to stop you from gaining leadership because you do not abide by traditional Shadowhunter views and values. Honestly, I thought they were lying and just wanted the position for themselves or that you were maybe somehow worse than current leaders. I can see now by the fact that you are married to a warlock and the way you still spoke to me as a professional without belittling me shows you are what the Shadowhunters need,” Eoin explained, gaining some respect from Alec at the recognition of character. 

“This is very touching and all, but can we get on with the curse undoing?” Jace injected, his tone clearly exasperated with the conversation. 

“Please excuse my parabatai, we are still working on manners,” Alec said as he glared back at Jace. All three warlocks laughed at Alec’s comment before he turned back towards Eoin. 

Eoin stepped forward, looked at Magnus, and explained, “I’ll be honest, I have never reversed this exact curse before. I only used it once before I was imprisoned. It’s been a long time that I’ve used my magic in this way at all. I promise you I will do it correctly and quickly, however, I am uncertain of the after effects.”

Magnus nodded and responded, “I appreciate that, Eoin, but I will be honest with you as well. If there is any sign of injury or threat on Alexander, I cannot promise a calm reaction from anyone in this room.”

“Understood,” Eoin replied quickly as he stepped even closer, obviously nervous. He then spoke to Alec. “ Again, I cannot tell you how much I apologize for this. I hope you may be able to see where I was coming from on my decision, but I know that is no excuse to partake in this behavior.”

“I do accept your apology, Eoin, and I intend to share my opinion on the matter with the warlock council once we fully investigate all sides. Please, just do undo whatever this is before anything else happens,” Alec said before turning towards Magnus who was also ready to react. 

Eoin raised his hands to let Jace open the cell and remove his magic binding cuffs. “Okay, the removal should not hurt, but the after effects will be immediate. Most likely nausea or dizziness and you will be very tired, probably for many days to come,” he said before immediately sending a wave of red magic into Alec’s chest which swirled around and then returned to Eoin before turning to dust before him. 

Alec stumbled into Magnus’ waiting arms as a wave of dizziness washed over him. “Oh shit,” he groaned as his eyes closed and he held onto Magnus’ in a tight grip. 

There were sounds around him that he assumed was Jace and Catarina moving Eoin back into the cell and cuffs. Alec could not seem to clear his vision at the moment, but he wasn’t trying to actually regain anything. He just wanted to lay down. 

“Alexander, we are going to portal home now. It is not going to be easy on you since you are already dizzy, but it will be over quick,” Magnus explained as he opened the portal and Jace moved to Alec’s other side to ensure that Alec wouldn’t get lost in the portal. 

They stepped through and landed in Magnus and Alec’s living room. Alec stumbled, but he trusted Magnus and Jace to keep him upright. He kept his eyes closed and tried to regulate his breathing as he was very nauseous from the portal. 

Izzy and Clary jumped up from the couch as soon as they heard the group return home. “How did it go? Is everyone okay?” Izzy exclaimed with concern as she looked at Alec. 

Alec took some deep breaths to make sure he did not vomit as everyone waited for him to speak. “If this is what a hangover feels like, why do any of you ever get drunk?” he asked, his tone annoyed. 

Everyone laughed even though it was clear that they were all concerned for him as well. Magnus and Jace were still bracketing him so he didn’t have to worry about holding himself up. He turned towards their bedroom to go lay down and he felt Jace tense beside him. 

“Aren’t we going to talk about everything?” Jace asked quietly with wide eyes directed between Alec and Magnus. 

“We are going to talk after I can do it without feeling like I am going to throw up any second,” Alec answered while he continued to walk away from the living room. 

“Alec-”

“Jace, it’s okay. You can all stay and I promise we will talk through everything. I just need to lay down first.”

“Alec, I’m serious! You could’ve just died!”

Alec turned around and looked at Jace with a stern glare. “Jonathon, everything is okay. I’m going to take a nap.”

Jace sputtered and shot Alec an offended look at using his full name. Izzy and Clary had to stifle a laugh behind their hands as Ragnor and Cat watched with an amused smirk as Magnus led Alec to the bedroom, talking quietly between them. 

Cat walked over to Jace and patted him on the shoulder. “I told you, not everything is always a disaster, you ridiculous Nephilim.”

“So, what? That’s just the end of this?” Jace asked, still concerned that no one seems to be taking this seriously. 

Magnus came back into the room and filled the table with Chinese takeout before taking a seat. “Catarina has already reached out to the council to discuss Eoin. Alexander and Jia are going to handle the Everlakes, who have been detained, next week after he has time to recover. Alexander has no trace of nondescript magic and he is safe. This couldn’t have ended better, Jace, honestly,” Magnus explained with sympathy as he shared Jace’s level of concern for Alec. 

Jace looked around to see all five of them looking at him expectantly, waiting for him to accept that they had succeeded without any complications. Finally, his face broke into a smile and he said, “I think I could get used to this then.” 

Everyone laughed again before they dug into their food. Jace turned his head towards Magnus and Alec’s bedroom and sent a feeling of contentment through the bond as he accepted a carton of fried rice from Clary with a smile. 

\---

Alec stepped through the portal into the loft and had to take a few deep breaths to tamp down the nausea. One week and two Clave trials out from the curse reversal and he was still dealing with symptoms. Cat had developed a potion for him, but he didn’t like how drowsy he felt after taking them so he soldiered through it. 

“You good?” Jace asked as he pulled his brother down into a chair. Alec looked up to see his family moving around the kitchen, talking and eating to give Jace and Alec some private time together. 

“Yeah, I’m just tired of always feeling like I’m going to lose my lunch. How about you?” 

“What about me?” Jace responded, confused by Alec’s question. 

“Come on, J. We both know that you and Magnus both took this harder than anyone else, including me. Magnus and I have already talked through it. You haven’t said a word,” Alec said seriously, reaching over to grab Jace’s hand. 

Jace looked up at Alec in surprise. “I’m fine, Alec. Really.”

“Jace. Talk to me.” 

“What do you want me to say, Alec? I thought you were going to die and then everything worked out perfectly fine. When does that ever happen to us?” Jace replied, his tone escalating as he continued. “Everyone is acting like nothing could have gone wrong and that is not our history!”

“Hey, hey, I get it, okay? How do you think I felt? Magnus assumed it was his fault because it was a curse and he assumed magic-related must mean him. I had my own anxiety and fear on top of what I felt coming through the bond. Do you think I was confident at any point during all of this? I stood in front of the warlock who put the curse on me to begin with and hoped that he wouldn’t kill me just by giving him a little speech. Even with you, Cat, and Magnus there, anything could have happened. I know that and you know that, but I know that if I act the way I feel, it will only make everyone feel worse,” Alec explained, nearly breathless by the end of it. 

Jace looked at Alec in surprise. “I’m sorry. I just...I was waiting for the other shoe to drop, I guess.”

“I get it. That has been our whole life, but everybody has been telling us; we have people now. I’m not going to say everything is going to be perfect, but maybe we have both shoes on the ground now,” Alec looked over at Izzy who smiled at him and then he looked back at Jace. “It’s not just three go in anymore.”

Jace glanced over at the kitchen. He saw Clary and Simon laughing with Cat. He saw Ragnor and Magnus making drinks. He saw Izzy, Maryse, Luke, and Maia talking while opening various takeout containers that filled the countertop. He thought to himself that this is their circle now and they had even more that weren’t there with them. 

“I guess you’re right,” Jace said quietly as he made eye contact with Magnus who smiled back before he saw Magnus’ focus shift to Alec. “Go see your man, big brother. We’re all good.”

Alec got up and pulled Jace up with him into a tight hug. “Yeah, we are,” Alec replied before stepping back and walking over to Magnus. 

Magnus opened his arms as Alec walked closer, his smile growing as well. “I assume that was the parabatai talk you both were in desperate need of, right?” 

“It was and you were right. We both felt the same way. I think we are on the same page now. I’m just glad it’s all over,” Alec responded as he brought Magnus in for a kiss.

“You and me both, darling. Hopefully we will get a break from nightmares for a while,” Magnus said as he turned in Alec’s arms to look at their kitchen filled with their family. 

“Yeah, I think I’ve had enough dreams for a lifetime,” Alec whispered as he wrapped his arms around Magnus’ waist, pulling his husband back into his chest. “This is way better anyway.”


End file.
